Little Known Uses of Witch Hazel and Other Plants of the Southern Appalachians

Have you ever spotted a bottle of witch hazel on your drugstore shelf and wondered about the story behind this curiously named shrub? If you find yourself intrigued by this winter-flowering southern Appalachian native and the mystical mountains that surround it, come along with bioregional herbalist and international educator Patricia Kyritsi Howell to learn more about the uses of witch hazel. 

In the expanded and revised second edition of Patricia’s book, Medicinal Plants of the Southern Appalachians, Patricia shares clinical insights, harvesting tips, and personal experience with a vast range of botanicals from that incredibly biodiverse region. The biome of the southern Appalachian mountains is a unique and incredibly botanically diverse ecosystem, as we learn from author Patricia Kyritisi Howell, a beloved herbalism instructor who has led hundreds of plant walks through the hills of both north Georgia, where she lives, and Greece, the land of her heritage. 

In the following excerpt from her bonus video, Patricia details some fun and surprising tidbits about Hamamelis virginiana, otherwise known as witch hazel. Think you know all there is to know about the witch hazel tucked away on so many bathroom cabinet shelves? Think again; Patricia has a unique bioregional herbalist’s take on witch hazel that is deeply grounded in the traditions and heritage of the southern Appalachians. 

Get to know witch hazel in the book excerpt below, and then join Patricia herself in the video below for a few tidbits about witch hazel that may give you a whole new outlook on this underdog bush. Did you know, for example, that beyond its role as a classic astringent for topical use, witch hazel is capable of so much more, for example, aiding sore muscles or resolving excess menstrual bleeding?

Head on over to The Herbarium to find the whole excerpt from Patricia’s new book and the exclusive, full length video in which she dives into so many more uses of witch hazel than meet the eye, including information on its origins, lesser-known facts about its flowers and twigs, and best practices when it comes to harvesting and using it. 

The following is excerpted with permission from Medicinal Plants of the Southern Appalachians by Patricia Kyritsi Howell, published by BotanoLogos Books. Copyright © 2025 by Patricia Kyristi Howell.

I grew up on the tall grass prairies of northern Illinois and was well into my thirties the first time I experienced a deciduous cove forest in the southern Appalachian Mountains. I remember the exact moment I realized I was walking along a path lined with many medicinal plants I often used in clinical practice. The hillside above me was crowded with black and blue cohosh, partridgeberry, Solomon’s seal, and maidenhair fern. Plants that had just been names in books or dried green things in jars were suddenly gloriously alive. I felt I was among friends.

A few years later, I moved to the southern Appalachians. The seasonal rhythm of the wild herbs growing around my forest home are now markers of the passing seasons. When my sister calls to tell me she is coming south for a visit, I think: When the lady’s slipper blooms, she will be here; when the first goldenrod blooms in late summer, I know I must start preparations for winter. This seasonal cadence is ancient.

The Appalachians are some of the oldest mountains on Earth, having formed from 1.2 billion to 250 million years ago by geological uplift from shifting tectonic plates. Since then, this ancient formation has eroded from its former stature into undulating ridges interspersed with many deeply forested coves. The cove forest ecosystem is a unique sanctuary, blessed with rich soils and abundant rain. It shelters one of the world’s most botanically diverse temperate rainforests and many species of plants and animals found nowhere else. 

Botanists refer to the southern part of the Appalachian region as Southern Appalachia. This area of the Southeast ecoregion spans ten states, starting in the New River Valley in southwestern Virginia and extending through parts of West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and northeast Alabama. These iconic highlands traverse the lower Piedmont, Blue Ridge, Ridge and Valley, and Appalachian Plateau, incorporating sections of the Allegheny Plateau and Mountains, then progressing into the Shenandoah Valley, the Cumberland Plateau and Mountains, and most of the Piedmont Uplands as well as the entire southern range of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Southern Blue Ridge comprises multiple sub-ranges, including the famous Great Smoky Mountains. 

More than 3,000 trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants thrive here. Of these, 100 genera are endemic. Sassafras, blue cohosh, ginseng, witch hazel, and many other genera native to the eastern deciduous woodlands are species that grow here and in two other places: the Ozark mountains of Arkansas and east Asia. This phenomenon, known as floristic disjunction, is the only remaining evidence of a vast ancient forest that covered the Northern Hemisphere millions of years ago. The unique mountain geography of the Ozarks, eastern Asia and the southern Appalachians appears to have harbored plants in relative isolation, allowing them to survive millennia of environmental changes, evolve into unique species and, over geologic time, spread out into the surrounding lands. 

This book explains how to use 44 medicinal plants native to the southern Appalachians. Anyone who has spent time in the area may be familiar with some of them, including many of the region’s most famous wildflowers. I have deliberately omitted several plants considered threatened or endangered, such as goldenseal (Sanguinaria canadensis), false unicorn root (Chamaelirium luteum) and lady’s slipper (Cypripedium spp.); these fragile native plants must be allowed to regenerate themselves in peace. 

WITCH HAZEL

DESCRIPTION: Witch hazel is a small deciduous tree, ten to fifteen feet tall, with alternate, ovate leaves that are irregular in shape, asymmetrical at the base and wider at the tip, with wavy edges. Delicate small yellow flowers with four narrow petals resembling thin shreds of crepe paper bloom between October and December, providing a late-season food source for insects. An insect gall (an abnormal growth caused by an insect feeding or laying eggs on the leaf) is responsible for witch hazel’s common name; look for small protrusions on the leaf surface that resemble the point of a witch’s hat. 

CURRENT USES: Witch hazel is a reliable remedy that deserves a place in every first aid kit. Witch hazel decoction or tincture is used internally to control severe diarrhea and reduce excessive menstrual bleeding. The infusion can also be used as a wash for the eyes and a gargle for sore throat. Saturate cotton balls or gauze with witch hazel and apply directly to hemorrhoids, burns, varicose veins, bug bites, sprains, aching muscles, backaches, and bruises for immediate relief. 

Join Patricia in the video below as she shares more about the uniqueness of the plants in her bioregion and the numerous uses of witch hazel.

SEE THE FULL LENGTH VIDEO IN THE HERBARIUM!

Interested in learning more about bioregional herbalism, botany and wildcrafting, and little-known uses of herbs? Members of The Herbarium can join herbalist Patricia Kyritsi Howell as she delves into these topics in more depth! You’ll find this enlightening video in The Herbarium, along with the excerpt of Medicinal Plants of the Southern Appalachians.

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Find Medicinal Plants of the Southern Appalachians by Patricia Kyritsi Howell via BotanoLogos Books or Amazon.

Patricia Kyristi Howell, RH(AHG), is an herbalist, teacher, and mentor, and was the director of BotanoLogos School of Herbal Studies in northeast Georgia for 30 years. She is the author of Medicinal Plants of the Southern Appalachians, featuring over 200 photos, now in its 2nd edition. As a sought-after speaker, she has presented at various esteemed conferences and institutions.

Connect with Patricia at her website, https://patriciakyritsihowell.com/